Way thought for the day 21st July 2012 – The body is a compound

“The body is a compound of perishable organs. It is subject to decay; and we should take care of it as of a wound or a sore; we should attend to its needs, being attached to it. The body is like a machine, and there is no self in it that makes it walk or act, but the thoughts of its brain. As the windy elements cause the machine to work, so does the mind command the body.

“The body moves about like a cart. Therefore it is said:

‘As ships are by the wind impelled, as arrows from their bowstrings speed, so likewise when the body moves, the thinking elemental processes lead.

Machines are geared to work by ropes; so too this body is, in fact, directed by a mental pull, whenever it stands, or sits, or acts.

No independent self is here that could intrinsic forces prove, to make man act without a cause, to make him stand, or walk, or move.'

“Dismiss the error of the self, and do not cling to possessions which are transient, but perform deeds that are good, for deeds are enduring, and in deeds your karma continues.”